How Webmasters Can Maximize Their Guest Blogging Requests for SEO and Digital Marketing

Search Engine GuideAugust 16, 2013Comments Off

by Jason Corrigan

Guest blogging or the act of developing content on third-party websites is the all the craze these days, with hundreds of so-called “writers” searching for opportunities to publish articles on popular SEO and digital marketing websites.

Due to the enormous wave of webmasters accepting content from anyone and everyone, regardless of a writer’s talent or ability to effectively articulate unique information, Google and other significant search engines have steadily diminished the value guest authorship originally had for producing quality links and search visibility.

However, this is not to say that guest blogging is useless, it just needs to be managed more carefully by accepting webmasters.

Before you accept the next person who sends you an e-mail asking to write for your website, consider the following points when vetting the quality of a willing writer.

1. Does The Writer Know What Your Website Focuses On – Who Your Audience Is?

Before you accept just anyone’s request to publish content on your website, make sure they understand what your brand is all about. Too often, writers who are eager to build their personal reputation will blindly run through a number of websites and send out generic e-mails hoping anyone responds to them.

For the webmaster who is eager to accept free content because they themselves do not have the time or resources to produce content on their own, accepting someone’s work without first understanding the quality of the writer can be a disaster for your search campaign.

So when you receive an e-mail from someone asking to write for your site, ask them a number of interview questions that focus on your core offerings, your company’s history and who they believe your target audience is.

If they can successfully answer these type of questions, then you are most likely working with someone who takes their work seriously and cares about the type of content they create.

2. Do They Have Any Professional Writing Experience?

The issue with guest blogging is that everyone and anyone can call themselves a “writer.” But just because someone can pick up a basketball and throw it at a hoop, does not make them Michael Jordan or even an athlete.

So to make sure that you are working with a professional, make sure you ask for links from any website or newspaper that highlights the work of the person asking to contribute to your site so that you can carefully vet the caliber of talent they possess.

If the person requesting to write for your website is brand new and admits to having zero professional experience writing, ask them to draft a number of brief stories on subjects that your brand focuses on. That way, you will be able to understand exactly what you are getting before you allow them to publish article content on your website.

3. Avoid Blogging Regurgitators

Often times, someone who is purely interested in enhancing their own personal equity will look over subjects from one website and basically regurgitate the same information onto yours.

You do not want a website that is full of content that speaks to basic elements of digital marketing and there are only so many to describe “How To Effectively Use Twitter.”

So challenge your writers.

Make them prove to you that they will create excellent content for your website by asking them to develop unique articles that discuss and highlight alternative ideas and strategies associated with SEO, SEM and digital marketing.

Do not worry about the writer being abstract in their assertions; Google has over 200 points in their algorithm and most search marketers really only know between 10-20 of them. Therefore, there is a tremendous amount of elbowroom in discussing cool, new concepts to test out.

About OLM Blog

Whether you’re a small business owner or a member of a large corporation, up-to-date with the latest trends in business and marketing strategies or not, you’ve come to the right place. One of the most important elements of any business, small or large, is a Website. And, that’s where The Online Marketing Blog can help – providing solutions for marketers.